Hero
by m.sharkbait.4444
Summary: BEING REWRITTEN, WILL CONTINUE ONCE SCARRED IS COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: the characters and ideas known as Ranger's Apprentice belong to Mr. John Flanagan (who I call Flanny) and do not belong to me in any way.**

**Before I start the story, do know that this is AU in MANY ways, the main character of this story is brought into our time, hence "What if your hero disappeared when you needed him most?" **

**Don't you hate it when plot bunnies attack you when you are writing something you promised to get done? (Hence a certain sequel)**

**Onto the story!**

We've all heard a fairy tale or two in our lifetime. In those fairy tales, the princess is always saved from the evil stepmother or the evil witch or someone like that by the hero. But what if the hero hadn't been there to save the princess? What would've happened then? Few people have ever asked themselves those questions when they read those cheesy tales.

We honestly can never truly tell what would happen if the hero wasn't there to save the princess. Maybe the bad person would kill the princess? Maybe the princess would give up and fall in love with someone else? Maybe the bad person decided that they shouldn't be mean to the princess and so they let her go? We don't know, but we can allow ourselves an imagination.

But what if the hero wasn't trying to save some maiden girl? What if the hero was trying to save an entire country? What if the hero was sent somewhere where he knows no one, where he is considered a freak, where he is alone? So many questions… and yet they all apply to our story.

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Halt looked over the wreckage known as Castle Araluen. How did such a small letter turn into such a large, devastating, and horrifying battle? Everything started with a broken promise, such a small promise at that. _I'll come home, _Halt recalled. Princess Cassandra, the crown princess of Araluen, promised to return home from her journey in an eastern country. She wound up captured, forcing Araluen to break the treaty with that country.

The broken treaty ended with the broken battle ground once known as Castle Araluen. Now, Castle Araluen was the battle ground filled with bodies and battles. Halt's mind brought him back to the present. He fired a few arrows, taking down a few enemy soldiers. In the distance, he could see Sir Horace Altman, fighting for some of the only things he had left.

Horace cut down the offending enemies, hacking like a wild Skandian… only he was using a sword. A few Skandians had indeed come and were hacking away with their axes, but that didn't matter right then. Horace could hear the quite _whoosh_ of a long bow. There were fifty _Araluen_ long bows within the castle, all Rangers.

Horace continued what would be considered a wild rampage, even though he knew very well he would get nowhere with it. Araluen couldn't win this battle, which was a simple fact.

King Duncan himself was fighting along his soldiers. He'd hoped throughout his entire life that Araluen wouldn't fall under his rule… too late now. Araluen was falling, and fast. They were outnumbered and losing numbers fast.

Still, Duncan fought. He didn't intend on losing his country yet, he wanted to find his daughter first. It wasn't until he heard the light footsteps of two people echoing down the corridor that he was in that he turned to face the new intruders. "Dad!" A young woman yelled as the man next to her released a few arrows, taking down the rest of the invaders near the king.

"Cassie!" Duncan replied, his voice heavy with relief. "Are you hurt? Are you broken? Where were you? Never mind, your fine now, right?" Duncan released a volley of questions. _Halt would've been extremely annoyed,_ the man who'd reunited the royal family thought.

"I'm fine! Will found me! He saved me from them!" Princess Cassandra replied to her ever-so-worried father. Will Treaty, on the other hand, rolled his eyes. War was no time for family reunions.

"Will!" Duncan faced the short Ranger who'd saved his daughter. "Thank you…"

"Sir, this is no time for common talk! We need to get you both to a safer area!" Will said as he ushered the two royals towards a tall tower.

.

"Sir, under here." Will instructed towards a small cabinet. "There is a secret passage, if I am taken down, follow it out. It will take you out towards a meadow far away from here and this war." He informed the two royals.

"What are we doing in the Ranger's tower?" Cassandra asked worriedly. She'd seen a few enemy soldiers make their way up the tower before.

"There are secret passages within this tower that even you, Sir, don't know about." Will replied as he unlocked the lock on the cabinet. "If they kill me, do _not_ yell out my name. Do _not_ make any sudden noises. Do _not_ wait to see if I am okay. If they kill me, go and run." Will told the two sternly. Duncan nodded and climbed into the cabinet. As he felt around, he found a door that opened to a stair case.

Cassandra followed. "Wait…" Will said. "If I die… give this to Alyss…" Will said as he handed her an envelope. "Make sure she gets it… it tells her what to do… wait… give it to her anyways." Will looked deeply into Cassandra's eyes, begging her to listen to him. She nodded, tears swelling into her eyes as she crawled into the small passage.

Will shut and locked them in. "Sir, I promise that as long as I live, I will make sure this country doesn't fall." Will promised through a metal door coated in wood. He heard a muffled response through the door, but didn't have time to respond.

Cassandra heard the door outside of the small and cramped space burst open. She could hear the quiet _whoosh_ of Will's bow and the _thump_ of the grey shafted arrows striking home into the enemy soldiers. She also heard the unsheathing of a few swords as they charged at the young Ranger. She could already feel what would happen.

Duncan knew what they would hear and what he would see if they stayed. He'd found a peephole, and he knew Will was heavily outnumbered. "Let's go…" He whispered into Cassandra's ear. She nodded, knowing that he father didn't want her to hear the death of one of her best friends.

.

Will waited for the blow that would kill him. The blow didn't come; instead he felt a pain in his side evolving from a small dagger. He touched the dagger hilt, and then remembered no more.

A flash revolved from the dagger that ended with a large fog. The enemy soldiers searched for the Ranger through the fog, and only found the small dagger that had been in his side. There was no blood, no body, and no sign of the Ranger.

"He's gone…"

.

Logan Anderson chased after the ball that he and his little siblings had been playing with. The ball rolled into the woods, and he knew very well his mother would kill him if he found out that he'd been there. The ball continued its roll, much to Logan's annoyance and landed in a ditch. He climbed down into the ditch and found not only the ball, but a man.

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**So, whatchya think? Review and tell me!**

**-Sharkbait**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Ranger's Apprentice belongs to Mr. John Flanagan, not me.**

Mitch Longman strode through the collection of tents gathered within the meadow. King Duncan and his Ranger escort were to be arriving soon, and he needed to be ready. Will Treaty had made a very detailed plan to get the royal family north and away from Castle Araluen. So far, everything was going to plan. "They'll be here soon!" He heard one of the fellow Rangers within the camp yell.

There were six Rangers within the camp, two Couriers, and one chef. _"Two to three people per tent, Mitch. We need to save resources."_ Mitch recalled what Will had told him about the tents. Three more Rangers were supposed to be coming soon; Will, Halt, and whoever was assigned to escort King Duncan through the tunnels.

"He's here! King Duncan and the Princess are here!" Mitch heard the overjoyed yells from a young apprentice. _Luke,_ he recalled the boy's name. _Might as well go greet them,_ Mitch thought with a smile. The tall, lean, and muscular man began to walk towards the cheers. "Mitch! Come on, Mitch!" Luke continued to yell, a huge grin on his face.

"Your majesty," Mitch said with a bow. Duncan smiled and nodded, even though a great tragedy had happened only moments before. Mitch raised himself up and looked around confused. "W-where is your escort? A Ranger was supposed to escort you through the tunnels…"

"Our… our escort had to stay behind… there wasn't enough time for him to get through…" Duncan said with a mournful glance around the gathered people. His glance stopped at a young blonde Courier. _Alyss Treaty…_ he realized. He nodded to the young woman who looked around confused.

"No, the escort had to come! Will said that he told someone to come. He was sending someone who knew the plan…" Mitch began to speak. "Will sent someone, I know he did! He told someone to go with you- that person was supposed to know the plan! I don't know what to do now…" Mitch drowned off.

Cassandra couldn't help but bite her lip. How was she supposed to give that letter to Alyss? "Who… who was the escort?" Mitch finally asked. Duncan looked around at the people gathered here. These people were supposed to escort he and his daughter to a safer place, and there leader was Will, the man who just died saving him.

"The escort was… _Will…_"

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Logan looked over the man. He wore a cloak that reminded him of something he'd seen in a museum… he just couldn't put his foot down on it. The man's eyes were shut tight, Logan's fingers weren't able to pry them open. Logan looked around for anyone nearby. _Sam will know what to do!_ The boy realized. "Sam! Sam! Saaam!" Logan began yelling for his eldest brother.

Logan got up from his perch next to the man and began to climb back up the ditch. "Saaaam!" He yelled the entire way. "Sam! Sam! SAAAAAM!" Logan kept running, out of fear and out of wanting to help the stranger. "Sam! Help! SAAAM!"

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Samuel Anderson, or Sam as his little siblings called him, awoke with a start from his family's couch. He'd been enjoying a very nice nap, only to be awoken by Logan's yells. "Logan? Logan!" He began to run towards the calls for help. He noticed his father's rifle leaned against the door way and grabbed it, just in case. "I'm coming, Logan!" He yelled to his little brother.

Logan was at the edge of the woods. "Sam, there's a man in the woods-"

"What were you doing in the woods?" Sam asked sternly. No one was to be in the woods.

"I was getting the ball, Lily threw it. Sam, there's a man!"

"It's the woods, of course there's going to be a man. That's why you stay out-"

"Sam, the man looks hurt! He looks hurt…" Logan said, his face showing deep concern for the mysterious stranger.

Sam sighed and ran a hand through his trademark-Anderson hair. "Logan… you're not supposed to be in the woods…" Sam finally replied. He honestly and truthfully didn't know what to do.

"Sam… the man is hurt… he looks like he might die if someone doesn't help him." Logan countered towards his older brother.

Sam sighed and looked towards the woods. Logan wasn't the type to lie about something like this. _I'm going to regret this…_ Sam thought as he loaded his father's rifle and began to make his way towards the woods.

.

Sam's eyes just about popped out of his head when Logan showed him the man. The man looked to be about Sam's age; 24. He also wore a mottled cloak. Sam recognized the cloak… he didn't know where. There was also a quiver of _arrows_ on this man's back. Out of worry, Sam snatched up the arrows- and the knives- from this man. "Logan… hold these."

Logan looked in awe at the weapons his older brother was telling him to hold. A quiver of arrows and two knives… and a mottled cloak? Something was egging at Logan's mind. _Araluen…_ he realized. _Rangers…_ he continued. "Sam… I think this man is a Ranger…"

"What? Rangers are from at least 500 years ago, Logan. They're all long gone, remember? The guy at the museum said that." Sam replied, a sheepish grin across his face.

"Still…"

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Halt looked over the camp that was to escort the king north. He could pick out different people. _Mitch, Luke, Alyss, Pauline, Duncan,_ he thought. _Everyone is here except for Will…_ he realized. Pauline noticed him at the edge of the camp and beckoned for him to come closer. Raising his eyebrow, Halt urged Abelard into a trot towards the awaiting Courier. "Is everyone here? Some scouts noticed a few raiding parties coming this way…" Halt began.

Pauline shook her head sadly. "Everyone that can be here is here. You do know the plan, right?" She asked. Halt looked at her confused, but still nodded. Will told him the plan multiple times. "Good… you'll need to tell Mitch, he's freaking out."

"W-why?" Halt asked. _Will is coming… right? _He asked himself. "Will is supposed to be coming, right?" He asked her. She shook her head sadly. "What about Duncan's escort? Will told them the plan, right?" He asked again.

"Halt… Will was the escort." She began sadly.

"Then he should be here, so where is he? He knows the plan."

"Halt… Will had to stay behind. They were attacked before Will could get them out, so he told them to go alone. Halt… Will is dead." Halt didn't believe what he heard.

"No, Will could hold them off. I'm going back… we need someone anyway." Halt said as he turned Abelard back towards Castle Araluen.

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"Horace!" Horace heard Halt's yells. He couldn't help but notice and edge in his voice. "Horace!" Horace rolled his eyes and turned towards the older man- who shot down the man Horace was about to get. Halt beckoned for the young knight to come closer, so he did. "I need you to come with me."

.

Halt looked around the small tower room. He could see enemy bodies, but he didn't see a single Ranger body. He did indeed find Will's bow, but that's it. "Search for Will…" He told Horace. When Halt examined the enemy bodies, he noticed that each one had a grey shafted arrow in them.

"He's not here…" Horace said. Halt went over to the cabinet and found it locked. Using the key each Ranger had, he unlocked it and examined the inside.

"No… no no no no…" Halt muttered sadly. _The cabinet could only be locked from the outside…_

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Sam looked at the stranger now wearing his clothing. The man had a wound in his side that Sam wrapped up after folding the stranger's _weird_ clothing. The man now wore sweats and the local high school's logo tee shirt. "Logan… I think he's waking up." Sam said as the man rustled in his sleep.

The man sat up and looked around his surroundings. Instinctively, the man reached for the knife he couldn't find. "Sir, calm down…" Sam told the stranger. "We aren't going to hurt you, we're trying to help."

The man looked at Sam and Logan confusedly. _They're barely children…_ he thought. He looked down at himself, searching for his knives, but found himself in some strange clothing. "W-where are my things?" He asked the boys. Logan handed him his cloak, but not his weapons. The stranger nodded thankfully.

"Who are you?" Logan asked the man.

It dawned on the man that these people could speak his language. _I must be in Araluen still…_ the man thought. "I am Ranger Will Treaty."

**.**

**Whatcha think? Review and tell me!**

**-Sharkbait**


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